THE FIRST WORD: What's college basketball without a little madness? In the first weekend of conference action, a handful of upsets rewrote the scripts that seemed to be formalities heading into the new year.

Madness, take 1: Perennial ACC contender Duke entered conference play with one of the country's most potent offenses behind player-of-the-year candidate Jabari Parker. Meanwhile, Notre Dame had lost top scorer Jerian Grant to an academic issue and struggled to establish a rhythm early in the season. Then the Irish stunned the Blue Devils 79-77 in the ACC opener for both teams.

Madness, take 2: UConn, featuring electric scorer Shabazz Napier, was and still is expected to be a major contender in the American Athletic Conference, but after back-to-back losses to Houston and Southern Methodist, the Huskies aren't looking so hot at 0-2. Factor in the fact that Larry Brown's SMU squad is looking mighty impressive and we're looking at a jigsaw puzzle in the AAC race.

Madness, take 3: Oklahoma State lost a close one on the road, falling 74-71 to Kansas State, to open Big 12 play — indicating the Big 12 won't be as top heavy as anticipated, perhaps. OSU, Kansas and Baylor have the pieces to be the front-runners, but it would be a mistake to rule out Bruce Weber's Kansas State Wildcats or Fred Hoiberg's Iowa State Cyclones, among other notable challengers.

Madness, take 4: Mick Cronin's defensively-sound Cincinnati squad finally found its offense in résumé-boosting road victory against Memphis. After flying under the radar much of the first two months of the seasons, the Bearcats have emerged as a tough out and possible AAC contender.

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HIGHLIGHT REEL: Jabari Parker had a rough night Saturday, going 2 of 10 from the field to finish with seven points before getting benched by Coach K in the game's final minutes. And ... this dunk also happened.

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AT THE BUZZER: Dayton senior Devin Oliver banked in a 3-point shot with .3 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Flyers an 83-80 victory at Ole Miss.

STAR WATCH: Creighton forward Doug McDermott is playing like the two-time All-American he is. The nation's second-leading scorer has now totaled more than 30 points five times this season. He had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a win against Seton Hall on Saturday to help improve the Bluejays to 2-0 in the Big East.

WINNERS, LOSERS: Breaking down Saturday's victories that matter the most and the losses that stain résumés the worst.

WINNERS

Notre Dame: Luck of the Irish? Not exactly, although rallying from a 10-point deficit to beat a top-10 team is much better than squandering an eight-point lead in the final 50 seconds against Ohio State. Notre Dame handed Duke its first loss in an ACC opener in seven seasons and, for the first time in his career, coach Mike Krzyzewski lost to a former assistant in coach Mike Brey. Eric Atkins stepped up as the lead catalyst with Grant gone, finishing with 19 points, including seven during a decisive 20-4 run. The key stat? Parker had the lowest scoring output of his career — he had seven points on 2-for-10 shooting and sat the final three minutes.

Kansas State: The Wildcats are proving to be a scary team, hitting their stride in the middle of the season. After an ugly 2-3 start that included an opening-season home loss to Northern Colorado, K-State has won nine in a row, none more impressive than Saturday vs. Oklahoma State. Marcus Smart's shot at the buzzer falling short was indicative of the Cowboys' night — 21.4% shooting from beyond the arc. Much of that can be credited to KSU's perimeter defense. And here's a name to take down: Marcus Foster. The freshman had 17 points in eight rebounds for this red-hot team.

Pittsburgh: If you're looking for an under-the-radar team, think about Pittsburgh. The Panthers are suddenly 13-1 following their 74-62 victory against North Carolina State in the program's inaugural ACC game. Pittsburgh was down 17-2 early but outscored the Wolfpack by 20 points in the second half. Lamar Patterson is the team's engine — finishing with 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists on Saturday.

Virginia: The Cavs went on the road and beat Florida State. These are the kind of wins — against a similarly stocked FSU team — that matter for the Cavaliers in terms of credentials for the Big Dance.

LOSERS

UConn: The reeling Huskies (0-2 in the AAC) have lost three of their last five games after falling to SMU on Saturday. Shabazz Napier was 2-for-9 from the field in the 74-65 loss, and Connecticut was 5-for-16 from three-point range. It doesn't get any easier for Kevin Ollie's group with a tough non-conference matchup against Harvard on Wednesday before conference clashes with Central Florida, Memphis and Louisville.

Indiana: There's no shame in losing to a healthy Michigan State squad that has the look of a Final Four team, but that doesn't stop the Hoosiers from being 0-2. That's the misfortune of playing in the Big Ten, as Indiana fell 83-80 to Illinois in the conference opener. Turnovers continue to plague Tom Crean's developing group. The Spartans turned 13 Hoosiers turnovers into 20 points. Indiana's averaging 16.4 turnovers a game to lead the Big Ten in that category.

Memphis: Cincinnati's 69-53 win Saturday on the Tigers' home court was both impressive and surprising. But remember, Josh Pastner's squad played in Conference USA previously — going without a conference loss since February 2012. Perhaps this could serve as a wake-up call, because this Memphis group has major potential with experienced guards who penetrate well. Playing against strong competition on a night-to-night basis (not always the case in C-USA) will be telling on how high the Tigers' ceiling actually is.

LSU: Lost to Rhode Island. The Tigers have the talent of an NCAA tournament squad but, these are the kind of losses that sting because the NCAA tournament committee examines them frequently.

ON DECK: A look at the best matchups to watch/pay attention to on Sunday. All times Eastern.

No. 19 San Diego State at No. 17 Kansas (4:30 p.m. ET, CBS): San Diego State got the new year off to a strong start Wednesday with a hard-fought Mountain West Conference road win at Colorado State. The Aztecs now turn their attention to a final opportunity for a quality non-league victory at No. 17 Kansas. SDSU has been getting solid work on the boards from well-traveled forward Josh Davis. He might have a hard time maintaining his average of 11.1 rebounds per game against the likes of Jayhawks center Joel Embiid and forward Perry Ellis. It will be interesting to see if freshman star Andrew Wiggins guards Winston Shepard, who's coming off a monster three-game stretch. Our pick: Kansas.

No. 23 Iowa at No. 5 Wisconsin (Big Ten) | (7:30 p.m., Big Ten Network): The unbeaten Badgers are doing it the way they usually do, led by their defense. Wisconsin is ranked 14th in the nation, allowing 60.6 points a game. The 14-0 start is the program's best in the modern era (since 1946). The Badgers had a pair of 15-0 seasons in 1911-12 and 1913-14. Offensively, Wisconsin is led by Sam Dekker (14.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and Frank Kaminsky (14.2 ppgs, 5.8 rpg). Iowa's two losses have come to teams with a combined record of 22-1 (Villanova and Iowa State). Junior forward Aaron White leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage (.678). Senior Roy Devyn Marble continues to show his versatility and is the third player in school history with more than 1,300 points, 325 assists and 375 rebounds. Our pick: Wisconsin

No. 9 Oregon at No. 24 Colorado (Pac-12) | (5 p.m., Fox Sports 1): The Ducks' unbeaten start shows synergy from a mix of transfers and returning players from last season's Sweet 16 team. Oregon leads the country in scoring with more than 90 points a game. Houston transfer Joseph Young (20.2 ppg) and UNLV transfer Mike Moser (13.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg) are the top offensive producers, but six players are averaging nine points or more. Aside from an opening-season loss against Baylor and a narrow defeat against Oklahoma State, Colorado fared well in the non-conference portion of its schedule. Spencer Dinwiddie (15.8 ppg) and Josh Scott (13.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg) pace the Buffaloes offensively. The team that wins the rebounding battle should have the upper hand. Our pick: Oregon.

USC at UCLA (Pac-12) |(Sunday, 3 p.m., Fox Sports 1): Battle for Los Angeles?At long last, these new-to-LA rival first-year coaches can finally battle it out on the court after a little trash talk and recruiting battles. The pressure's on the Bruins' Steve Alford considering UCLA is the better team by far and away, while USC's Andy Enfield is no stranger to playing spoiler as the architect for one of the most notable Cinderella runs in the NCAA tournament. Jordan Adams is an explosive scorer who's hard to contain, and Kyle Anderson is one of the most versatile players in the country for UCLA. Our pick: UCLA.

Providence at No. 14 Villanova (Big East) | (Sunday at 5 p.m., Fox Sports 1): Both teams are coming off recent losses to close their respective non-conference schedules. Villanova excels when it dictates the tempo, something it failed to do when dealing with Syracuse's 2-3 zone in a 78-62 loss. James Bell (16.2 ppg), JayVaughn Pinkston (15.3 ppg) and Darrun Hilliard (13.6 ppg) lead a balanced scoring attack for the Wildcats. Providenc dropped a close game against Massachusetts to end its non-conference schedule and doesn't have any eye-catching victories. But this is a Friars team with great potential. Bryce Cotton (19.5 ppg, 5.6 apg) is as explosive as any guard in the country and leads four players who are averaging in double figures. Our pick: Villanova.

Scott Gleeson, a national college basketball writer/digital producer for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @ScottMGleeson.